January 9, 2013

Mars Colonists Wanted

Mars One, a nonprofit organization based in the Netherlands, intends to establish a human settlement on Mars in 2023 and is now starting the recruiting process to find astronauts for the eight year mission. Anyone on planet can apply if they meet the basic requirements and the final selections will be done via a reality TV show.

The not-for profit organization, Mars One, which plans to establish a settlement on Mars in 2023, today issued the base requirements for its pending Astronaut Selection Program. This establishes the first step toward the global selection process which will start in the first half of 2013.

Unlike other nationally-run space organizations, Mars One is opening the astronaut program to anyone on planet Earth that meets the base criteria.

You do not have to have military training or piloting experience in or even a science degree. The most important qualifications Mars One is looking for is that each applicant be intelligent, in good mental and physical health, and be willing to dedicate eight years to training and learning before making the journey to his or her new home on Mars.

Norbert Kraft, former Sr. Research Associate at NASA and Chief Medical Director for Mars One states, “We are more concerned with how well each astronaut works and lives with the others, in the long journey from Earth to Mars and for a lifetime of challenges ahead. Psychological stability, the ability to be at your best when things are at their worst is what Mars One is looking for. If you are the kind of person that everyone chooses to have on their island, then we want you to apply too.”

Applicants need to be at least 18 years of age, have a deep sense of purpose, willingness to build and maintain healthy relationships, the capacity for self-reflection and ability to trust. They must be resilient, adaptable, curious, creative and resourceful. Mars One is not seeking specific skill sets such as medical doctors, pilots or geologists. Rather, candidates will receive a minimum of eight years extensive training while employed by Mars One. While any formal education or real-world experience can be an asset, all skills required on Mars will be learned while in training.

The Mars One Foundation will employ the astronauts during their Earth-based training and life on Mars and will be the manager of the simulation bases on Earth and the human settlement on Mars. Eight robotic cargo missions (2016-2021) are planned to establish a habitable settlement which will greet the colonists upon their arrival to Mars.

The final Astronaut candidates will be selected from the global applications through a combination of critical review by Mars One experts and a global, reality-TV style program which ultimately selects which set of four astronauts from those assembled will be the first to go to Mars.